ASHEVILLE, N.C.?Mike Amendola went 3-for-5 with RBI to lead a 17-hit Hartford attack as the Hawks defeated UNC Asheville 11-4 to even their series at a game a piece Friday afternoon at Greenwood Field.
Amendola gave Hartford (3-6) a lead it would not give up with a two-out two-RBI double down the left field line in the top of the third inning. Andy Drexel followed with a RBI single to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead.
Asheville (9-12) got on the board first with a run in the first inning. Kevin Mattison doubled to right field and scored on a RBI single by Reed Kreiser who went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
The Bulldogs pulled to within 3-2 in the bottom of the third. Kevin Wiedenbacher extended his hit streak to 16 games with a lead off double and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Schumer.
Hartford added three more runs in the fourth as it had three-straight two out hits to chase Asheville starter Taylor Wohlwend (0-3).
Chris Greiner (1-1) settled in once he got the lead and did not allow an Asheville hit from the third inning until Elliott Arrington singled in the seventh. Greiner went seven innings allowing two runs on five hits.
The Hawks extended their lead with four runs in the top of the sixth inning. Three of the runs were unearned as six-straight batters reached base after two were out aided by an Asheville error. Eight of Hartford's 11 runs in the game scored with two outs.
Kreiser hit his fifth home run of the year to lead off the eighth inning and the Bulldogs added a run in the ninth as Beau Zinman singled home Wiedenbacher.
Hartford's top three hitters combined to go 7-for-15 in the game as Ben Sobocinski went 3-for-5, Simon Kudernatsch went 1-for-5, and Bill Perry went 3-for-5. Matt Walker also went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.
The two teams will play the rubber game of their three-game series Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Hartford will take on Brown University after their game against Asheville later in the afternoon.
